Stampede

According to experts, true "stampedes" (and "panics"[7]) rarely occur except when many people are fleeing in fear, such as from a fire,[8] and trampling by people in such "stampede" conditions rarely causes fatal injuries.[9]

Crushes are very often referred to as stampedes but, unlike true stampedes, they can cause many deaths. Crowd density is more important than size. A density of four people per square meter begins to be dangerous, even if the crowd is not very large.

Academic experts who study crowd movements and crushing disasters oppose the use of the term "stampede".[9] "The rhetoric of 'stampede' is often used to imply that the crowd is animalistic or mindless". Most reported "stampedes" are better understood as "progressive crowd collapses":[9][10] beginning at densities of about six[9] or seven[8] people per square meter, individuals are pressed so closely against each other they are unable to move as individuals, and shockwaves can travel through a crowd which, at such densities, behaves somewhat like a fluid.[8] If a single person falls, or other people reach down to help, waves of bodies can be involuntarily precipitated forward into the open space.[9] One such shockwave can create other openings in the crowd nearby, precipitating further crushing.[9] Unable to draw breath, individuals in a crowd can also be crushed while standing.[8] Journalistic misuse of the term "stampede", says Edwin Galea of the University of Greenwich, is the result of "pure ignorance and laziness ... it gives the impression that it was a mindless crowd only caring about themselves, and they were prepared to crush people."[9] In reality, individuals are directly crushed by others nearby who have no choice, and those who can choose are too distant from the epicenter to be aware of what is happening.[9]

Among causes of fatal crushes, sometimes described as "crazes", is when a large crowd is trying to get toward something; typically occurring when members at the back of a large crowd continue pushing forward not knowing that those at the front are being crushed, or because of something that forces them to move.[11]

A common aftermath of a crush with serious consequences is that those responsible for the event where the crush took place, authorities such as government bodies, and news media blame the crowd and the victims for being out of control and causing the crush, sometimes to the extent of a full cover-up. Later analysis, sometimes after those actually responsible have retired, may show that the disaster was largely caused (in the moral and legal rather than physical sense) by actions of those planning or in authority of the event, as in the Hillsborough disaster which killed 96 football spectators; actions by the crowd were blamed until investigations two decades later found manifold errors by those responsible for organising and controlling the football event, with members of the crowd then being regarded as hapless victims.[12]

It is believed that most major crowd disasters can be prevented by simple crowd management strategies.[13] Human stampedes can be prevented by organization and traffic control, such as barriers. On the other hand, barriers in some cases may funnel the crowd towards an already-packed area, such as in the Hillsborough disaster. Hence barriers can be a solution in preventing or a key factor in causing a crush. One problem is lack of feedback from people being crushed to the crowd pressing behind – feedback can instead be provided by police, organizers, or other observers, particularly raised observers, such as on platforms or horseback, who can survey the crowd and use loudspeakers to communicate and direct a crowd.[14]

There is risk of a crush when crowd density exceeds about four people per square meter. For a person in a crowd a signal of danger, and a warning to get out of the crowd if possible, is the sensation of being touched on all four sides. A later, more serious, warning is when one feels shock waves travelling through the crowd, due to people at the back pushing forward against people at the front with nowhere to go.[14] Keith Still of the Fire Safety Engineering Group, University of Greenwich, said "Be aware of your surroundings. Look ahead. Listen to the crowd noise. If you start finding yourself in a crowd surge, wait for the surge to come, go with it, and move sideways. Keep moving with it and sideways, with it and sideways."[9]

After the 1883 crush known as the Victoria Hall disaster which killed 183 children, a law was passed in England which required all public entertainment venues to be equipped with doors that open outwards, for example using crash bar latches that open when pushed.[15] Crash bars are required by various building codes.

Deaths from human crushes and stampedes are found to be caused primarily by compressive asphyxiation; trampling is a lesser killer.[13] This is due to crowd crush or crowd collapse.[9][14] In a crowd crush, people are subjected to compressive forces by being pushed from all sides (or against a barrier such as a wall) with nowhere to move into. In a progressive crowd collapse one person falls, creating a space in the crowd into which others fall, creating an even larger hole. Those who have fallen are squashed by the weight of many people on top of them (vertical stacking). Compression in either case is often fatal. A crush is typical of a crowd pushed into a confined area; a progressive crowd collapse may occur in a large crowd moving steadily forward along a confined route.[9]

• 11 February 1823: Carnival tragedy of 1823 where about 110 boys died after falling down a flight of steps to get bread[16]
• 16 June 1883: Victoria Hall disaster, where 183 children died rushing to get treats behind a narrow door at the end of a downward staircase.
• 18 May 1896: Khodynka Tragedy, where 1,389 people died and over 1300 were injured.
• 24 December 1913: Italian Hall disaster, 73 people died trying to escape from a false fire alarm at a crowded Christmas party.
• 6 June 1941: during a Japanese bombing of Chongqing, China, 1000 people were killed in a stampede at the Jiaochangkou tunnel, an access point to an air raid shelter.[17]
• 5 March 1953: Joseph Stalin funeral stampede: In the public's efforts to pay their respects to Joseph Stalin's casket, a number of people died as they were crushed and trampled by the amassed crowd.[18] Nikita Khrushchev provided an estimate that 109 people died in the crowd.[19]
• 3 December 1979: The Who concert disaster: 11 fans suffocated to death in the crush to enter Riverfront Coliseum, in Cincinnati, Ohio. Thousands of excited fans tried to enter through very few open doors. The resulting crush killed eleven fans and injured many others.
• 15 April 1989: Hillsborough disaster: 96 people killed and 766 injured as an influx of football fans were crammed into standing terraces in an effort to ease overcrowding outside.
• 2 July 1990: 1990 Mecca tunnel tragedy: 1,426 people killed.
• 14 January 1999: 1999 Sabarimala stampede: 53 people killed.
• 4 February 2006: Wowowee stampede: 73 people were killed and about 400 were injured during a stampede outside the PhilSports Stadium in Pasig City, Philippines. About 30,000 people had been gathered outside the stadium waiting to participate in the first anniversary episode of the former television variety show Wowowee.[20][21]
• 30 September 2008: 2008 Jodhpur stampede: 224 people killed and 425 injured in Mehrangarh Fort at Jodhpur.
• 14 January 2011: 2011 Sabarimala stampede: 106 people killed.
• 31 December 2014: 2014 Shanghai stampede: 36 people killed and 47 injured in Shanghai stampede during New Year's celebrations[22]
• 24 September 2015: 2015 Hajj stampede: At least 2,177 people crushed to death and 934 injured at the annual Hajj in Saudi Arabia[23]
• 3 June 2017: 2017 Turin stampede: 2 women killed[24] and more than 1,500 people were injured when panic erupted during a screening of the UEFA Champions League Final in Turin, Italy.[25]
• 29 September 2017: 2017 Mumbai stampede, Elphinstone (now Prabhadevi) Station, Mumbai, India: More than 22 people died and hundreds were injured on a narrow footbridge. Reports have said that panic triggered by a falling concrete slab made people rush in fear of the bridge collapsing, leading to the stampede. The bridge was densely packed during rush hour and heavy rains packed more people taking shelter near the bridge.
• 7 January 2020: Qasem Soleimani funeral Stampede, Kerman, Iran: 56 people dead and over 200 injured following a stampede during the funeral procession of Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani.[26]